Masters 2015: Leaderboard Scores, Analysis, Highlights and More from Friday

The 2015 Masters is Jordan Spieth's world, everyone else is just living in it. He came out of the gate on fire with an eight-under 64 on Thursday and followed it up with a six-under 66 for a total of 14-under par through 36 holes.  

Here's a full look at the leaderboard after Friday's second round:

Spieth has a comfortable cushion heading into the third round, leading Charley Hoffman by five strokes. It's also been a record-setting two days for the 21-year-old, per ESPN Stats & Info:

As far as how Spieth has been able to go on such a torrid pace, he said after the round that it may just be playing on this particular course, via The Associated Press' Paul Newberry (h/t U.S. News and World Report):

"I've been kind of on my game and feeling really good about coming to a place that I love, that everybody loves," Spieth said. "It's special to be in the tournament, let alone out front."

The scary thing about Spieth's round is he actually left shots on the course. He was on the 18th green with a short birdie putt but couldn't convert, forcing him to settle for par. He's only four shots away from tying Tiger Woods' Masters record of 18-under par (1997). 

For the record, Woods was at eight under par after two rounds in 1997. Spieth has obliterated that pace, though he will have his work cut out for him to match the 65 Woods shot in the third round that year. 

Here are some of the early afternoon highlights from Spieth, Woods and more on Friday (via the Masters' official Twitter account):

On the subject of Woods, Spieth and the Masters, Golf Channel's Justin Ray provided a great stat about how close the two golfers are historically:

Spieth has a long way to go before matching Woods' career accomplishments, but for one tournament, things look really good. 

Since Woods has already been brought up, let's stay with his round. You know it's a strange event when he shoots under 70 and isn't going to get any publicity. The 14-time major champion fired a 69, tying his lowest round in an event this season (Hero World Challenge). 

Per SportsCenter, this is the first time Woods has broken 70 at Augusta in four years:

Woods is currently tied for 19th and will play the weekend. Even though winning isn't a possibility this weekend—barring some kind of miracle—this is a good step in the right direction after he opened with a 73. 

Also lost in the madness of what Spieth is doing has been Hoffman's performance. The 38-year-old would be right in the mix for a green jacket at nine under par after two rounds in most years. He still has a chance but will need a lot of help to make things interesting. 

Per the AP's Doug Ferguson, Hoffman's 36-hole score would have him in the lead in most recent Masters:

Timing is everything in life. Hoffman's put together the performance of his career so far, and he will need to do it again on Saturday and hope Spieth falls back to Earth. 

Hoffman did say after the second round (via Golf World) that he understands the situation and is more likely to take some chances if they present themselves:

Phil Mickelson will need that same mindset after making a big move Friday. Lefty got off to a slow start with a bogey on No. 4 and an even-par 36 on the front nine, but he found another gear on the final nine holes with four birdies to finish alone in sixth place at six under par. 

One reason for Mickelson's success, as noted by Golf Australia, came from the things he was able to do with the irons:

It's unrealistic to expect Mickelson to catch Spieth, as Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman jokingly noted how far back he really is:

"

Phil Mickelson is within one shot of being within 7 shots of Jordan Spieth. This could get good.

— Kelly Tilghman (@KellyTilghmanGC) April 10, 2015"

Weird things tend to happen at Augusta, so don't count Mickelson out, but a lot of stuff has to go right for this charge to continue. 

Another good story so far is Dustin Johnson. He's never finished in the top 10 at Augusta, but he has put himself in the mix to rectify that this year with a second straight round under par. 

Johnson can also boast about doing something Spieth has yet to do, per Golfing World:

Johnson was a monster on the three par-five holes on Friday, per PGA Tour:

His problems were on the par fours, particularly a double bogey on the first hole and bogey on No. 10 after three bogeys on Thursday.

Given the charge he made up the leaderboard on Friday, Johnson shouldn't be taken lightly going into Saturday. Being able to avoid those two or three bad holes will determine how close the 30-year-old is able to get in Round 3. 

On the lower end of the star spectrum, Rory McIlroy fought a nice battle with himself on Friday. He was in danger of missing the cut after shooting 40 on the front nine, but he suddenly looked like the best player on the planet with a 31 on the final nine holes to get his second straight 71. 

After the round, per ESPN.com's Jason Sobel, McIlroy understood what it would take for him to make any noise in the final 36 holes:

Looking at the glass half full, at least McIlroy proved he had a 31 over nine holes in him. Being able to repeat that four more times has a chance, though it's about as good as Michael Bay winning an Academy Award. 

It's no secret Augusta, for whatever reason, has been a house of horrors for McIlroy. Per ESPN Stats & Info, he's had more rounds over 76 than under 70 at the Masters:

McIlroy's demons at this event won't be exorcised in 2015, though he did bounce back from what looked like a disastrous round to make the cut. These are the small victories that most players behind Spieth have to take with them right now. 

All eyes will be focused on Spieth because of what he's done so far, but the course has a way of humbling players in a hurry. Great players have imploded in the past—McIlroy's 80 in the final round four years ago immediately springs to mind—so the last 36 holes will be very interesting.